If you know Pat McGibbon, chief knowledge officer at AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, you know there’s not much he doesn’t know about the manufacturing industry – from AMT’s members and customers to its rich history and the forces driving its future. Now after a career at AMT that began in 1981, we congratulate this one-of-a-kind man for the significant impact he’s had on the people and companies with which he’s worked as he reaches his well-deserved retirement.
“AMT created the title of ‘chief knowledge officer’ just for Pat,” says AMT President Doug Woods. “What else could we call him? No other title could appropriately encompass the breadth of his knowledge. He has been one of the industry’s go-to guys for business analytics and industry connections for more that 40 years.
“Pat has been the guiding hand behind many of AMT’s intelligence products,” continues Woods. “His yeoman’s work includes not just number crunching, but a diplomat’s skill at forging alliances with other organizations, associations, economists and manufacturers around the world.”
McGibbon’s legacy includes products that enable AMT members to make data-based decisions, such as the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) Report, the Cutting Tool Market Report, the MTForecast annual event, and benchmarking reports and surveys too innumerable to mention.
But things didn’t start out so promising. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the prestigious College of William and Mary, McGibbon consulted the senior economist at the Machinery and Allied Products Institute (MAPI).
“Even though I studied capital goods, MAPI only hired people with advanced degrees,” recalls McGibbon. “Their senior economist said I needed to get some training and suggested I look into the National Machine Tool Builders Association, (NMTBA, as AMT was known back then). I started in January 1981 as an industry economist, left in 1987 to spend five years with the U.S. Department of Commerce as an industry trade specialist, and then came back to AMT. The rest is history.”
Throughout McGibbon’s career, he had the opportunity to travel extensively. “Those early travels were key to building my career at AMT,” he says. “They expanded my technical knowledge and world view of the importance of manufacturing. The beauty of being an economist was that nobody expected me to know much about the technologies they were showing me, so I could ask a lot of ‘dumb’ questions.”
McGibbon chuckles and says his questions “have gotten less dumb over time,” and that comes from connecting with legendary builders and outstanding distributors that comprise the manufacturing technology industry. He’s advised several administration officials and members of Congress on the importance of building a strong domestic manufacturing base for national security, economic growth, and job creation. Today he is one of the most sought-after experts in his field.
Pat’s commitment, loyalty, and passion, on and off the manufacturing field, have earned him the respect of whomever he works with, most of all his colleagues at AMT.
“Like so many of us with longevity, I stuck around because I get a kick out of working with people who do amazing things that make this country what it is today,” he says.
McGibbon is closing his final spreadsheets and retiring to Florida at the end of June. Be sure to wish him well.
If you have any questions about this information, please contact Peter at peelman@AMTonline.org.
